Ethiopia has secured over $83 million in revenues from power export to 3 neighbouring countries in the past 10 months, according to the Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP).
The state-owned power producer supplied a total of 12,126 GWh of electric power to Djibouti, Kenya and Sudan. It has achieved 85% of the target set for the 10-month period, EEP’s spokesperson Moges Mekonnen told Ethiopian News Agency (ENA).
Ethiopia officially began supplying electricity to Kenya in November, contributing to the nation’s growing power export. The amount has shown a 26% increase as compared to the same period last year, the spokesperson said.
In the same period, Ethiopian Electric Power has also supplied electric power worth over 14 billion Birr to domestic customers. Its officials plan to obtain a total of 20.6 billion from electric sales in total during the current 2022/23 financial year.
Last year, the electricity export total earnings contributed about 2% of Ethiopia’s total export trade revenue in 2021/22 financial year during which the nation obtained $95.5 million.
Authorities envision increasing the contribution to $400 million with a plan to economically integrate the East African region through electricity in the coming 10 years.
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is expected to play a key role in the plan. The dam, when complete, will not only help to meet the rapidly growing domestic need but also increase its power export to neighbouring countries, Moges told ENA.
The €3.48-billion dam which currently supplies up to 750 MW of electric power to the National Grid, will have an installed production capacity of 5,150 MW, and an average production of 15,700 GWh per year.
